The Vicar of Wakefield - subtitled A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself - is a novel by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith. It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians.
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield, his pastoral poem The Deserted Village, and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer. He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes.